Just a Simple Job, A Mass Effect fiction
by DR Fronkensteen
Summary: A medic who was kicked out of the Alliance military accepts a job as a smuggler. His first assignment is to bring supplies to a suspected Cerberus colony. Things quickly go wrong. Can he put aside his prejudices in order to get out alive?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone I'm back! This is my first jump into the Mass Effect fan fiction universe. I plan it be introducing two of my main OCs in this series. I'm going to keep the chapters small, so I can work on them faster and still proofread/edit them. This chapter isn't very intense, but I still rated it M due to what I plan on putting in future chapters. (Just violence/language) __ I hope you enjoy, and leave feedback. If anyone wants to collaborate or do an RP, feel free to let me know. Thanks!_

"All right... We just crossed out of range from the last communications buoy. We're cut off from here on out." Davis announced, typing away at her console. "Hey, O'Neil. Go check on the cargo... We're only a few minutes out from entering orbit."

Nicholas O'Neil grumbled a response, slid his seat back, and unbuckled his harness. He made his way out of the cramped cockpit, and into the narrow passageway. After about 20 meters, the passageway widened to a set of sliding double doors. He reached out, and punched in a few numbers on a wall mounted keypad. The doors slowly slid open with an awful screeching noise. The lights in the large room turned on, and then fizzled out with a sound of an electrical pop.

"God damn it..." O'Neil sighed. He stumbled out into the darkness, only hearing the sound of his boots stepping on the rusty metal floor. He found another wall mounted panel. Hoping to find the secondary lights, he blindly mashed at the panel. There was a click, a deep hum, and the room was slowly bathed in a dark orange light. The cargo hold came into view. Crates of all sizes were stacked to the ceiling.

O'Neil grabbed a data pad, and started walking down one side of a row of crates. Food, medical supplies, building supplies, heavy construction equipment, and even a few standard issue Alliance assault weapons of... unknown origin. It was certainly very precious cargo, and it was headed to a distant and unofficial human colony. Rumors were that Cerberus was behind the establishment of this colony, but it was best not to think about those things. The less you knew, the less the Council or Alliance would be able to screw you on if you got caught. O'Neil was being paid to transport the cargo, and not to ask any questions.

"Make sure ya get the containers on the other side." A deep, scratchy voice growled from only a few inches away.

"Already got those ones." Nick snapped back, not looking up from the data pad.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" The voice responded, raising in tone.

"How many times do I have to tell _you." _Nick looked up from the data pad, and into the elderly man's face. "I'm not going to call you captain, or sir, or any title I don't think you deserve. The recruiter for this job said I was to help with moving the cargo, and providing any emergency medical care if needed. Nothing else."

The older man stared back intensely, a look of anger growing behind his clouding eyes. There was a tense moment of silence as the old man took a step back. He suddenly broke into a hacking laugh that transformed into an uncontrollable cough.

"If I were 20 years younger, I woulda beat the shit out of and fed you to the vorcha for that!" The old man poked a bony finger into Nick's chest, still hacking and laughing. Nick responded with silence. The old man left with a grumble, still coughing as he disappeared down the passageway. Nick turned back to his work. He typed a few more entries into the data pad. He rubbed his eyes slowly. He realized another headache was creeping up on him. Not something he wanted to deal with in the midst of trying to offload cargo.

He tossed the pad down on top of a crate, and headed back down the narrow passageway. He took a sharp left into a very small kitchen and dining area. He grabbed a bottle of water off of the counter, and opened a cabinet. After some rummaging, Nick found the bottle of painkillers he was looking for. He tossed back a couple of pills, followed by a large swig of water. He turned around to look at another contracted crew member that had been sitting at a table on the other side of the mess area. The slightly fat, and very pale man sat at a table. His hair and clothes were unkempt, it was obvious he had slept in them without bothering to change or shower afterwards. He chewed slowly while staring absentmindedly at a small viewing screen built into the table.

"Miles." Nick cleared his throat as he tried to get the man's attention.

"Yeah." Miles answered, with almost more of a grunt than a coherent word. He continued staring at the view screen in the table.

"The primary lights aren't working in the cargo hold again." Nick waited a few seconds for a response. "Maybe you could actually get around to fixing them? When you have time, of course... You seem pretty busy."

"Yep" Miles responded in the same grunting voice.

Nick was about to press the issue further, when the ship gave a slight bump. It shuddered and creaked as Nick began to feel the sensation of mild deceleration. They must be pulling into orbit. He decided to head to the cockpit, he would need to help with the landing process. He kept a hand on the wall as he made his way back across the cargo ship. Everything was barley working on the aging vessel, including the inertia canceling systems.

"Cargo vessel calling human colony, come in... Cargo vessel calling human colony..." Davis spoke into her headset. Nick sat at his station next to the elderly captain of the vessel, and strapped into his harness. Davis leaned back in her seat, and shot a worried look to the two other crew members.

"Capitan, I'm not getting a response from anyone down there. Are you sure there's even a settlement out here?" She said, covering the microphone of her headset with her hand.

"Of course its here... I helped build the damn thing..." The captain studied his own console, not hiding the confused look on his face.

"Wait a second..." Nick's attention was drawn to a new blip on his screen. "We have another vessel coming around the planet..." He typed something hurriedly. "... Its' Turian."

"Shit!" The captain swore, fighting yet another one of his oncoming coughing fits.

"... Small scout frigate... In a low orbit over one of the main land masses. You should be able to see it out of the port side window." Nick continued.

"You think they'll want to search us? Davis mused, looking out of the window to see the alien ship.

"What the hell kind of question is that? Of course the Council's errand boys aren't going to pass up a chance to search us." Nick responded with an annoyed tone to his voice. He managed to get out of the Alliance without any jail time, no way he wanted to go back for some small time smuggling.

"Wait a minute..." The captain spoke, still looking intently at the information that was on his console. "They don't seemed to have noticed us yet... They must be busy looking at sumthin' on the surface down there."

"Great." Davis said with a hint of relief in her voice. "Lets see if we can get the hell out of here before they notice us." Everyone was surprised by the sudden loud alarm that sounded in the cockpit. Bright red flashes drew nicks eyes back to his own screen.

"We have a weapons lock!" He typed commands into the computer at a panicked pace. "Impact in 20 seconds!

"See if you can pull the ship out of the way!" The captain shouted. Davis hit a large button, which caused a loud klaxon to sound in the rear of the ship. She pulled hard on the controls, and the ship groaned in protest.

"Thats not gonna be enough... Impact in 10 seconds!" Nick shouted, now pulling the straps of his harness tight. He flicked a switch, which closed the sliding door to the cockpit.

"Brace for impact!" The captain bellowed.

Nick leaned back in his seat, and continued the countdown. "Five …... Four... Three... Two... One..."

The impact was much more than any of them had expected. They were thrown violently against their harnesses, and then pinned back into their seats within the space of half a second. All of the lights and control screens went dark. The only light was reflected from the planet outside of the windows. The ship began a tight spiral as it began to enter the atmosphere. Nick fought as hard as he could to stay conscious as the ship spun faster and faster, pushing him with immense force into his chair. He hoped the heat shield would protect them while entering the atmosphere, although he had some serious doubts. Nick passed out just as a soft orange glow flickered throughout the cockpit.


	2. Chapter 2

_Allright everyone, here's part two of my ME fanfic. As always, I love comments. Anything you like? Anything you don't like? Anything you want to see in a future chapter? Let me know! _

Nick stirred a little against his harness. He was stopped by a sharp, stabbing pain in his side. He cringed, and fumbled for the buckle. He unsnapped the straps, throwing them over his shoulders. His eyes were open, but everything was still dark. Nick administered himself a unit of medigel, which eased the pain in his side. Once he could stand from his seat, he was able to see that the emergency access hatch behind him was open.

"Anyone out here?" Nick's voice shook as he climbed from the wreckage. It was twilight, the sun was just starting to shine through the thick forrest that surrounded the wreck.

"Ah. So you are alive."

Nick's head snapped around to the voice. The elderly captain of the now destroyed ship was sitting in the dirt, leaning up against the trunk of a tree. He had some supplies gathered around, and not far away was what appeared to be a human form draped in a blanket.

"Wh- Who is that?" Nick stammered, climbing down from the wreck.

"Davis... Shame I thought you were dead too, you might have been able to help." The old mans words were hardly having an impact.

"Miles?" Nick continued.

"Eh- Haven't seen him." The old man shook his head. "Probably got sucked out into space after the turian torpedo hit us.. poor guy."

"Turian?" The word snapped nick out of his stupor. The turians had shot them down. He remembered finding their ship just before a torpedo had come out of nowhere. "Why the hell would they...?" Nick gestured to their downed craft, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Cause they're bastards, every last one of 'em." The old captain struggled to his feet. "Just think about it, they're outside of council space. They find a human colony, run by Cerberus, and decide to lay waste..." He explained, walking past Nick.

"Still-" Nick followed, surveying the crash site. "As much as I don't like turians... I'd never think they would do something like this.."

The old man cackled. "This is exactly what they do... Find some lame excuse to start a fight... And then lay waste to everything, without even giving you a chance to even think about surrender." The captain stopped at one of the spilled cargo crates. He pulled a metallic case from the wreckage, and tossed it down on the dirt. He unsnapped the two latches, and flipped the lid open. The old man removed the Avenger assault rifle, and check to make sure it was loaded.

"You're not going after them, are you?" Nick asked in disbelief. The captain remained silent, continuing to inspect the weapon. "Listen, if you expect me to go after them with you, you must be batshit insane. My job was to help deliver the goods, and thats it!" Nick felt his face get red.

"I don't expect you to help on this one..." The captain picked up a pack of supplies, and slung it over his shoulder. "We're stuck out past communications range, being hunted by Turians. On top of that my whole life has been reduced to a god damned smoldering crater... This is personal."

"I always knew you were crazy." Nick chuckled. He watched as the man swung the pack over his shoulder, and started walking. Nick stared back at the crashed ship, and then to its disappearing captain.

"Hey, wait!" Nick shouted, hastily gathering supplies of his own. He caught up with the old man at a light jogging pace. "Listen, you crazy son of a bitch." He slowed to a steady walk. "I'll go with you, but I'm not going up against the turians... As soon as we find any other humans, you're on your own." Nick explained, fumbling with the straps on his uniform.

"Fine by me." The captain said, his eyes scanning the horizon. "Did you bring a weapon?"

"No. I wasn't planning on a fight."

The captain grumbled something, and then produced a pistol. "Here..." He handed the weapon over to Nick. "Won't matter if you're not planning on a fight, they are."

"Right..." Nick mumbled, securing the weapon to his uniform. He had heard stories about the First Contact war between the humans and turians from his father. Sure, the two races were supposed to be allies now, but memories of the war were still the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Nick was shocked that the turians would have attacked them so blatantly, but at the same time he wasn't surprised. Who could blame them from taking a little revenge on some human "terrorists", all the while the Council is looking the other way?

"You see that?" The captain stopped walking abruptly. "Smoke." He pointed to a spot on the horizon, through a clearing in the trees. There was a faint plume of blue smoke rising to the sky, likely the aftermath of large fire.

"Yeah, I see it." Nick also stopped. The had walked a couple of kilometers already, with no sign of any of the colonists or turians. "You think its more wreckage, from our ship?... Or the colony?" Nick sounded worried. If the colony was destroyed, there would be no way of getting off the planet.

"Only one way to find out." The captain shrugged, and started walking in the direction of the plume. Nick reluctantly followed. The two stayed silent for a little while longer. The forest was oddly quiet. Nick didn't know anything of the native species, so the silence could have been completely normal. Nonetheless, it was unsettling. Before long, the two reached a dirt trail, probably used by the colonists to ferry goods between different camps.

"My god..." Nick mouthed as the source of the smoke came into view. It was a burned out dwelling, with its roof blown completely off. Charred debris littered the ground, and an acrid electrical burning smell hung in the air. Nick scanned the other buildings in the area, all of them pockmarked with small arms fire.

"Got someone over here!" Nick shouted after spotting a figure laying face down in the dirt. He approached it cautiously. He noticed the ground surrounding the figure was soaked in blood. Nick kneeled down next to the corpse, and slowly turned it over. The colonist had been shot in the torso numerous times, and bled out where his body now lay.

"Dead turian over here!" The captain announced, standing about 10 meters away. Nick stood up and walked over to the old man, wiping sand and dirt from his pants.

"That colonist has been dead for a few hours. Whatever happened here, we missed it."

"Yeah, this guy has been dead for a while as well." The old man poked the dead turian with his foot. The alien had similar injuries to the dead human: Multiple gunshot wounds. Only this time, focused mainly around the face and head. If either of the humans had the ability to tell individual turians apart, this one would have been unrecognizable.

Nick sighed. He rubbed his face, noticing that his headache was returning. "Well... Looks like we're fucked... Was it you or the recruiter that told me this was going to be a simple job?" Nick asked, starting to vent his frustration.

"Who said its not simple?" The captain asked back, giving a mischievous grin. He cleared his throat. "Theres nothing more simple than life and death." The old man moved his eyebrows up and down on the last part of the sentence.

"Fuck it, I'm done here." Nick said, storming off to one of the intact dwellings. "Go carry out your death wish by yourself, I'm staying here!" Nick shouted over his shoulder. The last think he heard before entering the dwelling was the cackling of the old man, fading off into the distance.

The inside of the dwelling became completely dark after Nick shut the door behind himself. He turned on his omni tool, activating the built in flashlight. Nick scanned the contents of the small building. It was in disarray; tables and chairs were overturned. Some of the walls were scorched with weapons fire. Doors were ripped off cabinets, and their contents were strewn everywhere. Nick paused when his light passed over a computer terminal.

"What are the chances..." Nick spoke out loud, approaching the terminal. It powered on. "Yes!" He typed franticly, trying to find any log of what had happened. Just when he located a promising file, a warning popped up on the screen.

"Shit.." He stepped back. The file was encrypted, and Nick was no expert hacker. He stood, pondering his next move. There was a slight noise from the other side of the room. Nick spun around, drew his pistol, and pointed his light at the source of the sound.

"Who's there?" Nick said forcefully. "I'm armed, show yourself!" Nick heard a soft moan come from an open doorway. He scanned his light around, spotting a pool of blue blood flowing from around the door frame. Nick sidestepped carefully, getting a better view of what was beyond the door. Slowly, an injured turian came into view. The alien soldier was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall. It sat in a fairly large pool of its own blood.

"Hey..." Nick tried to get a response, but the alien didn't notice him. When he got close enough, he kicked the turian's rifle out of reach. He then holstered his own pistol, and knelt down.

"Hey..." He shook the aliens shoulder, receiving another moan in reply. The alien had two gunshot wounds in its upper chest, which were steady oozing blood.

"I'm a medic, I can help you." Nick swung his pack off of his shoulder, and removed his medic kit. He administered a dose of medigel, and the turian opened its eyes. Nick noticed the aliens vital signs improved slightly with the dose, but were still at dangerous levels.

"Why did you attack us?" Nick asked loudly.

"... No..." The turian mumbled, blood spilling from its mouth.

"Listen, you have to talk now. You're too seriously hurt, I can't fix you with just medigel. Why the hell did you attack my ship?"

"... Ship?..." The alien finally made eye contact with Nick. "What...ship?"

"My ship. The cargo ship you shot down!" Nick was starting to get frustrated.

"No... cargo ship... Distress call. Attack-" The turian heaved, leaning forward to expel more fluid. Nick responded by administering another dose of medigel. The alien leaned back, and groped at the med kit that lay on the floor.

"Thats a human med kit, all the other meds in there but medigel will kill you. Tell me, why did you attack these colonists? Why did you shoot down my ship?"

"... We did not..." The managed to say, just before going into convulsions. Nick watched on his omni tool as the turian's vital signs crashed, and finally flatlined. The alien stared up at the ceiling with a blank gaze, motionless.

"Damn it!" Nick slumped back on the wall opposite the now dead turian. He had no idea what to make of the alien's statements. If the turians didn't attack, then who did? He stared at the dead alien, contemplating his next move.

It wasn't ten seconds before the silence was broken by a sudden burst of intense gunfire. Nick jumped to his feet, and ran back to the main entrance of the dwelling. He drew his pistol again, and peeked outside. He couldn't see where the gunshots were coming from, but they were close. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the gunfire went quiet. Nick seized the opportunity to make a run for it. He doubled back they way he had come, passing over two more dead turians. These aliens had been killed just moments before, most likely during the intense firefight Nick had heard.

He increased his speed to almost a full sprint. He passed the last dwelling before the forest began again. As he rounded the corner, he ran headlong into a turian soldier. Nick went sprawling backwards, the wind knocked out of him. He sat up, his pistol still firmly gripped in his hand. He tried to bring it to bear on the alien, but froze when he felt the barrel of an assault rifle pressed firmly against his forehead.

"Don't move." The turian commanded, ripping the pistol from Nick's hand. He closed his eyes as the turian pushed the rifle even harder against his forehead. At least this death would be painless...


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three is here early, folks! I took a part I had cut from chapter II, and expanded on it. Plus, I'm snowed in from work today, so I was able to go on a three hour typing/editing marathon. Don't forget to leave feedback!_

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Nick sat with his eyes closed for what seemed like an eternity. Would he even feel it? How would he even know if he was dead?

"How did you get that blood on you?" The turian soldier spoke, pulling the rifle a few centimeters back from Nick's head.

"What?" Nick mumbled, opening his eyes.

"That blood. How'd it get on you." The turian pointed the muzzle of his weapon downward, directing Nick's gaze to his pants. They were stained in blue blood, most likely from the dead turian he had tried to help earlier.

"Oh, that.." Nick blinked heavily, trying to cure his now blurring vision. He had one hell of a headache, and the constant ups and downs of adrenaline weren't helping.

"Well?"

"I'm a medic, and there was an injured turian soldier in there." Nick nodded in the direction of the dwelling he had just exited. "They didn't make it... I tried to help." Nick added, before the alien could ask.

"Stand up." The alien commanded. "Show me were he is... Slowly."

"Sure thing..." Nick stood up, careful not to make any sudden movements. "This way." He began walking slowly back the way he had just come.

"Keep your hands up." The turian commanded, following at a short distance. Nick walked cautiously, half expecting to be shot in the back. He came to a stop at the open door to the dwelling he had just been in.

"Just in here." Nick nodded to the open doorway. The turian studied Nick's face for a moment, then looked at the door. He took a step forward, then stopped.

"No. You go first."

Nick slowly entered the dwelling. He walked purposefully into the back room, letting the alien follow behind him. He went into the room, and went past the dead turian. He paused, and turned around.

"Thats my medkit, there." Nick pointed. "I found him just like that... Was hangin' by a thread, I couldn't do much to help him. He said a few things I couldn't make sense of." Nick explained. The still living turian was obviously shaken by the horrific scene. The alien knelt down, put an hand on his fallen comrade's shoulder, and bowed his head.

Nick let his eyes wander. He spotted the assault rifle that belonged to the dead alien, laying only about a meter behind himself. He slowly took a couple of steps back, bending down to grab the weapon. As soon as he had a secure grip, he swung the weapon up, bringing it to bear on the turian.

"Allright, asshole. Time for you to start answering questions." Nick spit the words out with a fiery intensity. The alien merely looked up casually, not looking scared or even surprised. After the two stared each other down for a moment, the alien responded:

"What do you want answered?" The turian was legitimately annoyed with this human, and it was starting to show in his tone of voice.

"Why did you shoot down my ship? The cargo vessel?"

"We didn't. That must have been the geth."

"What?" Nick lowered his rifle a bit. "You're saying the... the geth did this?"

"Yes. They're the whole reason we're here. We got a distress call from the human colony. They were under attack from the geth. Most of us were wiped out trying to defend the main settlement, and the only other remaining members of my squad were murdered by a human moments before I found you. Murdered by a human that walked into this settlement along side of you." The turian spoke faster as he explained, getting even more frustrated with the belligerent human.

"Bullshit. The fucking geth? Thats the best you can come up with after you attack this colony? After you... Massacre everyone here?"

"Its the truth."

"The geth haven't been seen outside their system for... years!" Nick had forgotten the exact amount of time the geth had kept to themselves.

"Thats what I said when we received the distress call from this colony... A Cerberus colony.." The turian said the name with a hint of disgust in his voice. "We had no obligation to help.. Especially a colony run by terrorists... But my commanding officer thought it would be a gesture of... good faith."

"Get out of my way." Nick brought the rifle back to his shoulder. There was no way this turian was telling the truth.

"The geth are out there. There is also another turian ship on the way. So you're either dead at their hands, or dead at ours. Unless you end this, now." The turian spoke, standing up. He slowly stepped to the side, obeying Nick's command to move out of the way.

"If I change my mind, I'll let you know." Nick carefully walked passed the turian, keeping a firm hold on the weapon. He backed carefully away from the open doorway, keeping his weapon at the ready. Nick was just about to turn and run, when the turian stepped through, having rearmed himself. The two stood about 20 meters apart, locked in a Mexican standoff.

"Make your choice now, human."

"Don't even think about it..." Nick bluffed. He was no weapons exert, and the chances of him pulling off a lethal first shot were slim to none. The turian took a sudden step forward, and Nick instinctively reacted. He squeezed the trigger, firing a burst over the alien's head. Nick turned and sprinted away, expecting to be shot in the back as he ran. To his surprise, that didn't happen. Nick dove for cover behind a metal crate, catching his breath. He looked out from behind the crate, seeing no sign of the alien pursuing him.

After a few moments, Nick stood from his hiding spot. There was no sign of the turian. No sign of anyone, actually. Nick began a slow wander into the center of the human colony. The whole scene was silent again, like it had been earlier in the forest. There was a few bodies scattered about the roads. Not nearly enough bodies to be all of the colonists, Nick noted. The rest of them could be hiding somewhere else, or have been taken prisoner. Nick began to smell the familiar stench of death in the air. A stench that triggered unpleasant memories, memories Nick tried hard to forget.

He stopped at another dwelling, this one more intact than the previous. He entered, carefully. The interior was virtually untouched in the apparent battle, and everything looked almost normal. Nick laid his rifle down on the kitchen counter. He grabbed what appeared to be a clean glass, and filled if with water. His eyes wandered over the countertop after finishing the glass of water. He picked up a family portrait that had been laying face down next to the sink. A good looking couple, most likely in their early 30s, stood smiling into the camera. In front of them stood a young boy, probably only 9 or 10 years of age. Nick began to feel sadness for what may have happened to this near perfect looking family. The more he stared at the photo, the more his sympathy turned into anger. Eventually, he tossed the picture to the floor, its frame shattering into glittering pieces.

Nick stood, turned, and grabbed his rifle. He stopped halfway out of the dwelling. Something had caught his eye. Something unsettling. It was the same feeling you get when someone sneaks up behind you, and stares into the back of your head. He slowly turned, keeping the rifle at a low ready. He saw a figure standing in the shadows, completely silently. The figure looked frail and small, only about 4 feet tall with thin limbs. It was the figure of a child.

"Hello?" Nick spoke. He blinked his eyes, trying to make sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks. The figure didn't move, appearing to be staring at him from the corner.

"It's allright.." He softened his voice, and knelt down. Glass crunched under his boots as he knelt. He gave a faint smile, trying to calm whatever nerves the child might have.

"Is this your house?" There was no response. "What happened to your parents?" Still, silence. Nick furrowed his brow, becoming confused as to why the child was ignoring him. He lay his weapon on the ground next to himself. Flicking at a few buttons on his omni tool, Nick activated its flashlight feature again.

The figure let out a horrifying, high pitched screech as the beam of light lit up its face. By the time Nick's eyes were off of his omni tool, the figure had lunged forward. It didn't hit Nick with much force, but it was enough to put him off balance. The child jumped on top of him, clawing and grabbing at his neck, while still making that bone chilling shrieking sound.

"No... stop it.." Nick wasn't sure if he actually even said those words aloud. He looked into the face of the child as it still groped for his face and neck. It was the child from the photograph, but it was different.

"STOP IT!" Nick screamed, kicking the child with all his might. The small figure was lifted into the air, and hit the wall with some force. It landed in a heap on the ground, its shrieking sounds reduced to low guttural moans. He shined his light on the figure again, and grabbed his rifle. He scooted himself backwards, his legs kicking at the ground franticly.

After a second look, Nick confirmed that the figure that had attacked him was the young boy from the photograph. At least it used to be a young boy. The figure climbed to its feet, and stumbled forward. The child's face was now a metallic grey, its eyes glowed a soft blue. Metal tubing weaved in and out of its skin, also throwing off a sinister purplish glow. Nick raised his rifle, and fired a single shot without hesitation. Bloodless grey flesh was sprayed onto the wall. The husk recoiled, instantly crumpling to a heap.

Nick stared at the lifeless geth husk for a moment. He felt a hint of regret. The regret didn't last long, as fear set in. Nick clambered to his feet and stormed out of the colonist dwelling. He paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair. He felt nauseous.

The turian was right. The realization came over him like a giant wave. The geth. The geth had been here. The geth had attacked the colony. The geth had transformed that child into a monster. Nick found himself staring at the ground, him mind racing. His head was pounding, but he didn't pay attention to the pain. He quickly weighed his next actions, and then took off at a slow jog. Nick still doubted the turian's true motives, but he hadn't been lying. About the geth, at least.


	4. Chapter 4

_Don't forget to comment! I think this will be the last installment in this series, but it won't be the end of these two characters. Thanks for reading!_

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Nick stopped to catch his breath for a moment, his heart racing. It was getting dark. He was having trouble seeing, shadows were beginning to play tricks on his eyes. He kept seeing something at the corner of his vision, only to look and find that nothing was there.

He had ventured back into one of the main settlements, where he had last seen the turian. This time, the alien was no where to be found. Nick stood, surrounded by small buildings. He felt defeated. Part of him wanted to just lie down and hope that death would be quick.

He stopped again, leaning up against the cold metal exterior of one of the buildings. Nick lay his rifle across his lap, flicking on his omni tool. There was no way a signal would reach anyone, even if Nick was able to get to a larger transmitter. But if it would keep him from going insane, then he would keep trying. At least the electronic beeping of the omni tool broke the unsettling silence. Nick noticed the usually clear beeps sounded garbled, like they were slightly distorted. He stopped typing, listening intently. Nothing but uneasy silence. Just as he was about to punch another one of the holographic keys, he heard the noise again. It wasn't his omni tool.

Nick grabbed his rifle, and quickly recovered into a kneeling position. The sound was getting louder. An electronic clicking sound, that varied in frequency and intensity. Nick inched his face around the corner of the metal dwelling. He wasn't sure what he was looking at. He could see a pair of purplish lights hovering in the partial darkness only a few meters away. He squinted, trying to make out the source of the faint light. A glint of metallic white flashed abruptly just underneath one of the lights.

Nick quickly took a step back behind cover. Maybe a bit too quickly, the butt of his rifle had collided with the side of the building, creating a loud reverberating bang. Nick froze, raising the rifle to his shoulder. He waited, his sights trained on anything that might come around the corner. His heart was pounding, and his arms shaking slightly.

Nick could hear footsteps. He tensed up some more, squeezing his weapon even tighter to his shoulder. He placed a finger on the trigger, and held his breath. The footsteps stopped just on the other side of the building. The electronic buzzing and clicking sound resumed. This time, Nick knew what it was. The geth still surprised Nick when it appeared from around the corner, even though he knew it was coming. Nick squeezed the trigger and held it. The mass accelerated slugs ripped through the synthetic creature's shields, and tore into its armor. Nick only stopped firing when his weapon had overheated, and the geth was in a heap on the ground.

He maintained his stance, waiting for the other geth. He could hear more electric chatter. The geth did not round the corner. He heard a footstep, this time from behind. Before Nick got a chance to turn around, the second geth soldier brought its rifle down across his back. It impact caused him to loose his footing, and sprawl forward. Nick's rifle tumbled out of his hands landing out of his reach. The geth brought a forceful stomp down on Nick's stomach. He screamed out in pain, trying to roll away. The geth responded with another sharp kick, this time aimed at Nick's ribs. The geth stomped again, pinning Nick to the ground. It raised its own weapon, and pointed it at Nick's face.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Nick shouted, desperation showing in his voice. The geth appeared to stare for a moment, before its shields fizzled out. The shot wasn't heard until a couple of seconds later. This meant it must have been some kind of sniper at long range that had fired. There must have been a colonist that had escaped into the woods during the attack. Soon after the first audible shot, the geth was struck by a second round. This shot struck the geth solder in the back of the head, almost removing it completely. The robotic soldier teetered on its feet for a second, before collapsing directly on top of Nick.

"Help!" He could barley speak under the crushing weight of the dead geth. His arms flailed about, trying to find a way to push the weight off. It was futile, the geth weighed too much, and Nick was in an awkward position.

"Hey! Help me!" Nick shouted hoarsely, this time only a bit louder than the last. He could hear a different set of footsteps approaching."Thanks for taking care of that geth for me, I-" Nick stopped as soon as he saw who had fired the shot. The turian who had warned Nick earlier, the turian Nick had almost killed...

"You!" He was able to raise his voice a bit, having lifted the geth a couple of inches off of his chest. "Come on, get this damn thing off me!"

The turian did nothing other than stand a few meters back, cradling a sniper rifle with an angry look on his face.

"So you're just gonna fuckin' stand there and-" Nick stopped for a moment, collecting himself before continuing. "Alright, alright. Sorry I- Sorry for almost shooting you earlier... And about the geth... But I believe you now!" Nick nodded to the dead geth that was crushing him. The turian turned slowly, and took a couple of steps away. The alien set the rifle against the nearby building, and turned back to face Nick.

"Come on... Take pictures and post em on the extranet if you want, just get this damn thing off me."

"How can I trust you?" The turian spoke abruptly.

Nick squirmed under the dead geth, readjusting himself. "Well... You were telling the truth..."

"The other human. The one you were with. He killed two of my shipmates, and is still out there somewhere. How do I know you won't try to kill me?"

"Cause-" Nick squirmed again. "Cause I don't care about that old crazy bastard. Listen, I'm just a smuggler. My loyalty to that guy was just in my paycheck. Which now I'm not getting because the cargo is gone."

The turian stared Nick down for a couple of seconds. He then stepped forward, and pulled the dead geth off of Nick.

"Thanks..." He said, taking a deep breath in. He sat up, and cautiously climbed to his feet. "O'Neil. Nick." He held out his hand, expecting a handshake.

"Vox Castus." The turian relied simply, ignoring Nick's handshake offer.

"Well, Vox... What next?" He lowered his hand, slightly annoyed that the gesture had been ignored.

"There is a hierarchy ship on its way. We were able to send out a signal before we entered orbit. It should be here sometime tomorrow."

"So we just wait it out until then?" Nick hid the fact that the idea of being a lone human on a turian ship terrified him. But at least it was better than being stranded on a planet full of geth, right?

"Ideally, yes. But the geth seem like they are making one last sweep through the area. And there is your friend who still poses a threat..." Vox strolled back over to his rifle, and picked it up. It collapsed in on itself as Vox attached it to his armor.

"Hey, I told you, he's not a friend." Nick snapped back at Vox.

"Either way, he still poses a threat."

Nick nodded silently. He didn't doubt that the old man had gone crazy. He just hoped that the old man and the geth left them alone until the turian ship could get there.

"I have a fortified position this way. We should get there before more geth show up."

"You going to lead the way?" Nick asked, confused as to why Vox remained standing in place.

"I don't want you walking where I can't see you. Its that way." The turian replied, pointing to a path that led into the woods.

"I assume this means you're not going to give me my gun back either?" Nick began walking, and Vox followed a few paces behind.

"You would be correct."

"Come on, man." Nick whined. "You're treating me like a god damned prisoner." He spoke over his shoulder.

"There's no reason I shouldn't. You were delivering illegal supplies to a colony run by terrorists. One of your crew members murdered two of my squad mates. You're lucky I didn't shoot you when we first met. The fact that you're not even in restraints amazes even myself." Vox was getting irritated. He should have forgotten about this human after they first met.

"You see, this is why people hate turians. Its all about the rules. All you care about is arresting some low level smuggler, while the fucking geth are starting to invade new systems." Nick turned around to face Vox, walking backwards for a few steps. He waited for a response for a couple of moments. He turned back, shaking his head.

"I should have left you pinned underneath that geth."

"Yeah, you should have. You know what, I'd almost rather ride home on a geth ship than on a ship full of uptight pricks like you." Nick kept walking, not noticing that Vox had stopped. "Did I strike a nerve with that one?" Nick raised his voice, once he noticed the turian had stopped walking.

"I heard something."

"Yeah, of course you heard something. I'm fuckin' talking to y-" There was a sudden blast of gunfire from the woods. Nick didn't stand still long enough to see what happened to Vox. He dove behind a large tree, listening to the gunfight happening further down the trail. After gaining in intensity, the gunfire finally died. Nick stayed behind his tree, hoping that whoever had started the shooting hadn't noticed him. He couldn't hear any geth, but that didn't mean there wasn't any.

"O'Neil!" An old crackly voice called out. Nick instantly recognized it. He stumbled out from behind the tree, tripping over roots. He saw the old captain of the cargo ship holding a rifle, standing over a heavily bleeding Vox.

"What- What the hell are you doing?" Nick yelled, now running over to the downed turian.

"I was listening to the conversation. He was gonna arrest you."

"Yeah but-" Nick swung his medkit from his shoulder, and knelt down next to Vox. "You didn't hear anything about the geth?" Nick popped open the medkit, and started pulling out supplies.

"Oh, I heard him talk about the geth." The old man nodded casually

"And?"

"I haven't seen any... I think he's pulling one over on you." He shrugged.

"Pulling one over? I killed two geth, and I saw him kill another! There's a hierarchy ship comping in a few hours and, you probably just ruined our ticket off of this rock!" Nick almost screamed, his rage showing through. He began to check Vox for injuries, noting that he had been hit in the chest, stomach, and leg. Nick pulled a unit of medigel from his kit, and prepared to administer it to control Vox's bleeding.

"I can't let you do that."

"What?" Nick asked, not looking up as he sealed one of the wounds.

"You're wasting medical supples on the enemy. Step away." The old man grumbled.

"The enemy? Listen, we're not friends, but we're definitely not enemies." He looked up, to see that the old man had his gun pointed directly at Vox.

"Step away."

Nick contemplated stepping back, but he looked at Vox one more time. He saw his pistol the alien had taken earlier. Without giving much thought to the move, he grabbed the pistol, stood up, and pointed it directly at the captain.

"No, you step away." He replied back, staring the man directly in the eyes.

"So this is what it comes down to?" The captain chuckled. "Listen, I'm going to count down from ten. Once I reach zero, I put this turian son of a bitch out of his misery. Unless you stop me first."

"Listen, I don't want to do this." Nick pleaded.

"Ten... Nine... Eight..." The captain began his countdown. He had a sick smile on his face, and his eyes were wild.

"Just stop, we can talk!"

"Seven... Six... Five"

"I don't want to do it! Stop!"

"Four... Three...Two..."

"STOP!" Nick yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of his handcannon firing. The old man died instantly as the two heavy slugs ripped through his chest. He exhaled once after hitting the ground, and then lay still.

Nick quickly holstered his pistol, and then attended to Vox. He packed the rest of his supplies up, and swung his medkit back over his shoulder. He grabbed the turain under the arms, slowly dragging him the rest of the way to the fortified dwelling. Nick was getting tired as he reached the opening to the building.

"Come on man, help me out here." Nick panted when Vox's foot got stuck on the door frame. Vox only replied with a moan, but was able to free his limb so Nick could drag him the rest of the way into the fortified house.

Once Nick got the door secured, he tended to Vox's wounds. He had lost a serious amount of blood, and Nick doubted if he would be able to keep the turian alive past a few more hours. He worked to stop the external bleeding, patching up all of the wounds that he could. He wouldn't be able to do anything for the internal bleeding. The only thing he could do about that was hope that rescue would arrive soon.

Once he had done what he could, he sat back against a wall, exhausted. Just as he started to drift off to an uneasy sleep, he heard the distinct low rumble of a ship landing. He checked his omni tool, confirming that the ship was turian. He let his head rest back against the wall, and let out a long sigh of relief.


End file.
